Exactly three years ago, in October 2011, my phone rang at my antique maps gallery-cum-office. At the other end of the line was Dr Gregory Reichberg, an American seasoned researcher, a dear colleague then Director of the PRIO Cyprus Centre. Already at my time at the UN University HQ Tokyo…
Read More*Written by Dr Yiorghos Leventis As oil started to be pumped out of the Middle East, Cyprus served as London's outpost securing the uninterrupted flow of the vital energy resource for the formidable industrial machine of the British Isles. It is no coincidence that Sir Anthony Eden explained in…
Read MoreWritten by Famagusta Gazette Online MEPs from Italy have called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus' occupied northern areas and to comply with the Security Council resolutions on the Cyprus problem. Speaking before the European Parliament on Thursday, following the approval of the resolution on Turkey by broad…
Read MoreWritten by Dr Yiorghos Leventis* One thing is for sure: the Eastern Mediterranean is going through interesting times. Historically, I guess, we have always been living in such times. The Mediterranean, as the etymology of the geographical name denotes, constitutes the middle of the earth, the place where multiple…
Read MoreWritten by Human Right Watch* Source: http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/18/turkey-court-protects-journalist-s-killers (Istanbul) – A Turkish court’s verdict on January 17, 2012, that there was no state involvement or organized plot behind the 2007 shooting of the Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is a travesty of justice, Human Rights Watch said today. “The Istanbul…
Read MoreWritten by Dr Yiorghos Leventis* One thing is for sure: the Eastern Mediterranean is going through interesting times. Historically, I guess, we have always been living in such times. The Mediterranean, as the etymology of the geographical name denotes, constitutes the middle of the earth, the place where multiple trade…
Read MoreWritten by Dr Yiorghos Leventis* On either side of the Aegean Sea a Greek tragedy, in its full sense and extent, is being performed before our eyes. As the whole world witnesses the unfolding multiple Greek tragedy - huge foreign debt leading to economic, institutional and above all moral…
Read MoreWritten by Mr. Vercihan Ziflioğlu* Turkey's Syriac community, who adopted Turkish surnames, now want their original surnames back. Yet, a top court says that the laws don't allow such a move. Members of Turkey's Syriac Christian community are leading a legal struggle to adopt last names that reflect their identity…
Read MoreUnder the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkey has pursued a policy of good relations with all its neighbours. Well, almost. It has de-mined its border with Syria, tripled trade with Iran, established diplomatic relations with Armenia and reduced its military activities in…
Read MoreWritten by Dr Yiorghos Leventis* SPECIAL ISF ANNIVERSARY FEATURE ARTICLE The latest incident authored last Sunday (17 April 2011) in Berlin by an excessive and arrogant Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister, serves as a cool reminder of the troublemaking policies of his country. Turkey, a staunch NATO ally, sporting…
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